


A Life Well Deserved

by Bourdieflies



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur doesn't die, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, Other, Spoilers, TB what TB?, domestic fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bourdieflies/pseuds/Bourdieflies
Summary: Hamish Sinclair would be proud.Or, Buell has a new colt and John and Arthur are happy.





	A Life Well Deserved

The sound akin to a train whistle pierced the air and made John Marston spring upwards. Panting, he glanced around the dimly lit room. The light of the quarter moon filtered in through the windows, illuminating the medium sized bedroom. Noticing the lack of a warm figure next to him, John splayed his arm out to make sure that Arthur wasn’t in bed. Cold sheets greeted his calloused fingertips. Sighing, he laid back down and watched the ceiling, just listening to the sounds outside.

It must have been around 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. It was peaceful. Only the sounds of the wind greeted him. The cool air coming through the open window caressed his face with a touch akin to his lover. All he thought of was green eyes and the scent of nicotine. It lulled him back to the state before sleep, letting his eyes flutter shut again. 

The same sound that had awoken him before, broke the silence once again. John sleepily opened an eye and huffed. It sounded as if the new mare had finally gone into labor. Realizing why Arthur hadn’t joined him, John sighed and sat up once again. He knew he wasn’t going to go back to sleep until the foal was born. 

The ranch had belonged to an older fellow, but had no children, and no one to take it over after he had passed. John had been looking for a nice farm to settle down, and by his luck, he had found it on the back page of a local newspaper. He had paid for the ranch before telling anyone. It was large, enough rooms to occupy the traveling guests they would host. Charles, Sadie, and Javier would often visit and stay a few nights on the ranch, reminiscing on times long past. John knew they would see one of them soon; it had been too long since one of them had stayed the night. Arthur and Abigail still gave him strife about buying the ranch without him telling either one of them. Uncle expressed his gratefulness by barely working and complaining all the damn time. He hadn’t changed since the days of the Van der Linde gang. 

As he passed the older man’s room, all John could hear was deep snores and an occasional hacking. Rolling his eyes, he made his way down the stairs. As he crossed the kitchen towards the porch door, one of the few cats that roamed the ranch meowed and rubbed itself against his leg. John murmured a hello and scratched at the feline’s chin. However, before he could give anymore scratches, another piercing whinny echoed across the yard, into the house. Huffing, John finally made his way outside. 

The chilly air made him pause. Everyone knew he hated the cold with a passion. He hated everything associated with the cold, especially those damn wolves. But his growing excitement about the new arrival spurred him onwards. Nearly running, John made his way over to the slightly ajar barn door. The smell of hay and horse manure greeted him, as did the grunts of the mare. Reaching the closest stall, John peered in and smiled. 

The mare, named Jinx, was a wild thing. She had taken two weeks to finally warm up to Arthur, while John was barely able to walk past the outside paddock before she would rear and bolt for the other side. Arthur had found her, weak, without a herd, and scared out of her mind. After breaking her, Arthur had quickly gained her favor. Jinx was a mustang, and probably had never interacted with friendly humans before. However, Arthur was the friendliest human a horse could find. He often spent more time with Jinx than any of the other horses. Somehow, the mustang had quickly wormed her way into his heart. 

Jinx trusted Arthur, which was the only reason she tolerated John even looking at her new colt. She huffed as the younger man looked over the newborn. He was small, but his fawn like legs made up most of his body mass. His coat was just as striking as his sire’s, which John knew would definitely catch the eye of a few buyers. 

“How was the birth?” John asked quietly, hoping to not startle the mustang. Glancing up, Arthur shot the man a smile and eased himself up onto two feet, his knee popping at the action.

“Long, but the colt looks to be healthy. He’s gonna be a big boy, judging by how long those legs are. Just as expected, coming from Buell,” he grinned and winked. 

Buell was one of Arthur’s favorite mounts. He was a stubborn stallion, but the horse had always been dependable. He was a beautiful Dutch Warmblood, and rare too. The golden color of his coat caught everyone’s eyes when John and Arthur would ride into town. Buell knew how beautiful he was and would always put on a show when all the attention was on him. Out of all the horses on the ranch, Buell had the strongest personality. 

Buell had been a gift from a friend of Arthur’s, a veteran named Hamish. Although the man didn’t know the details of the friendship, John knew that Arthur had taken the death hard. They had been close, close enough for Hamish to gift Buell to the cowboy. When Arthur had ridden into camp with Buell that first time, he didn’t look proud or happy sitting on that horse. The compliments he received rolled off of him. John hadn’t pried, hadn’t asked about it, until one night when Arthur had too much whiskey. Arthur told him that he had lost a good friend that day. A good friend that he would never forget.

John knew that the colt would soon become Arthur’s new favorite, maybe even knock Buell and Jinx down a few spots. He chuckled to himself at the thought. 

Letting out a sigh, Arthur walked towards John with careful steps. Opening the stall, he walked out of the barn, probably to wash his hands off. John’s eyes followed him. A warm feeling settled in his stomach. He felt…. happy. He had a home. He had his love and his family. They were safe and sound. John glanced at the new foal. 

Jinx met his eyes and she let out a soft nicker. John’s eyes went wide at the olive branch. He smiled then cooed at her and the new colt. 

“Oh, so now you like me, huh sweetie,” he whispered to the blood bay. She nickered again in response, then finally heaved herself first onto her knees, then all the way up. He watched in interest as she nudged the colt. John knew it was about time for the colt to have his first meal, but he hoped that Arthur would be back before then. 

As much as John loved Old Boy, he never had a connection like Arthur had with Buell or Boadicea. While Arthur lived and breathed on horseback, John was comfortable on his own two feet. While John was better with people, Arthur naturally swayed towards any animal except for humans. 

Opposites attract, I suppose. 

John was shaken from his musings by a set of muscled arms settling across his stomach. He was pulled flush to Arthur’s front, his love settling his chin on John’s shoulder. The feeling of familiarity made John sigh in relief and relax in the embrace. 

“Did Jinx wake anyone else?” Arthur murmured close to his ear. His voice sent pleasant shivers down John’s back. Shaking his head in response, the two men watched the new member of the ranch. The colt was sitting up and looked like he was about ready to stand. Holding his breath, John watched as the creature tried to heave itself up. He fell three times before he got his wobbly legs underneath itself. The colt went right over to the mare and started to nurse, his nail wagging in happiness. 

Arthur kissed John’s cheek in happiness. 

John knew this wasn’t going to last foal to be born in this barn. He smiled at the thought. Maybe they finally would have a normal life, a life he and Arthur and Abigail and Jack all deserved.

**Author's Note:**

> So! I'm only on chapter 3 but I'm in love with this game and with Arthur Morgan, even though Arthur is barely in this fic. This is my first RDR2 fic, and my first published work in 3 years! 
> 
> I also ended it at a weird spot because I couldn't come up with a good name for Buell's colt. 
> 
> Let me know if you like it <3


End file.
